Love is the Scent of Amber, Lavender, and Sandalwood
by shogi-king
Summary: "Just take this as a reminder that you'll always be good enough for me, and you never fail to exceed me when it comes to loving. And you know that the only one who can beat me is me," It was Kise's turn to roll his eyes, "so it's a pretty big deal that I'm admitting that." (AoKise Oneshot)


I felt really encouraged to write some more after I recieved so much feedback from you guys(who were following my other 2 fics), so please take this as a thank you gift~!

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As much as he didn't want to seem ungrateful, Kise wished that the day would end already. It's not that he didn't appreciate his fans, but...

"Kise-kun! Please don't worry about what happened earlier! Your voice is still the best out of

anyone's in the world!"

...not a single word of support from them could help at this moment despite his claims, followed by one of those smiles so forced that you could feel your cheeks shaking.

How he really did cherish every single comment, hug, and smile, but nothing, nothing could lift his spirits up. He knew that it was normal in a singer's life not to be able to reach a certain note, or hold out a word long enough without running out of breath. If it were any other song, he would have just laughed it off and moved on. He really would. And after that, he would just work a little harder to reach his new-found goal.

But this was a song that he found himself singing at almost all times of the day- while cooking, in the middle of photo sessions, driving, cleaning. At one point, he even hummed the tune so much to the point where Kasamatsu's foot already hurt from trying to get him to stop during their one-on-one. And why, do you ask, would he be so obsessed over this song?

Because it was about someone that he loved. Someone that meant something- he would even go as far as saying everything- to him. Yet, there he was, messing it up. Cracking his voice at what he thought was the best point, at what he thought that his love interest would have thought was the best part.

He had to stop himself from sighing in relief as his manager called for a wrap, which made the large group of girls wail in protest.

Under her breath, his manager asked, "Kise-kun, are you alright? You seem tired."

"Honestly, I am, haha!" Another forced laugh. "But, manager, I'm just going to hang around the area. Have a nice night!"

True to his word, the blond singer did end up walking around, trying to pass the time. He couldn't go home to see his lover's face just yet. He couldn't face those cobalt eyes that would glisten when he comes into the house, asking how the concert was, or if the fangirls annoyed him... and always, always praising him. "Good work today," he would always say at the end of the day.

"Good work"... who was he kidding? Maybe he was just one of those singers who really knew nothing about singing in the end. One of those singers that his fans would rant about, who was apparently "just taught to sing, and had no talent at all". If he couldn't even express his emotion in the song that he was the most passionate about, did he really have talent? Or were people just supporting him because he had the upper hand? After all, he was a part of the Generation of Miracles _and _a well-known model with a pretty face. A pretty face, huh. Maybe that's how he got his popularity. Maybe his fans and friends- maybe even Aominecchi, _everyone_ just thought, "Mute your ears, focus on his face, and you'll be just fine." Right?

...Right?

He hadn't even realized that he was crying as he stood in the middle of the venue of the concert, staring at the stage before him, the stage where he _messed up, _until a warm breath and the smell of lavender, amber, and sandalwood combined rushed over him. "Boo." A strong pair of tanned arms encircled him from behind and his lover's head leaned over to greet him with a kiss on the cheek, greeted by a cold tear. Kise closed his eyes as he was enveloped in his lover's warmth. When _wasn't_ his boyfriend there for him whenever he was having a hard time?

Wait.

He's _here_.

And Kise was caught crying.

"Wah~!" Kise yelped in shock, turning to face his lover, whose face was plastered with a mix of confusion and amusement. "Aominecchi?!"

"Tch, Ryouta." _Ryouta_. He would never get used to the way that the tanned male said his name. "I wait for more than half an hour for you to get home, then I have to come by to see if you weren't fucking abducted, and now you're here _crying_?! What the hell happened?"

"Ah... Aominecchi... it's nothing, really." Kise bowed his head, trying to keep his tears from gushing out. "So... I'm sorry for bothering you. You shouldn't have come to pick me up."

Heavy footsteps approached the blond, and a finger gently flicked the side of his head. "Stupid," he remarked with a snort, trapping Kise into comfort and love that he didn't deserve, "Your shoulders are shaking. If you're going to try to look like you're not crying, at least keep your entire body from trembling, damn." Despite his harsh profanities, It was always said in an endearing way- if that was even possible. Kise gave up, sobbing into the crook of Aomine's neck as he clutched at a soft, grey jacket, which smelled of everything he loved. A hand stroked through golden hair as he was hushed, just like a child. Gradually, the singer's cries turned into mere hiccups and small gasps for breath. "Now, tell me. What happened?"

"I... Oh, do you really want to know? You're just going to laugh..." A head of amber locks bashfully bowed as a soft, genuine chuckle escaped his lips.

Aomine rolled his eyes as he tilted his lover's head to meet his eyes, a pool of honey that he would always melt in. "Well, yeah. I'm asking, right? Clearly, if I didn't want to know, I wouldn't ask."

"Okay, okay. Well, I..." Kise took a good breath. He didn't want to cry and speak at the same time. Whenever he did, he would get teased, saying that they couldn't comprehend his words. "I messed up a song, Aominecchi." The latter was about to interrupt, but Kise continued. "I know that it really isn't a big deal, and it's not that much of a problem, but... that song, I wrote and sang it today with you in mind..." Ah, his shoulders were trembling, and his voice was wavering. Again. "And, I really wanted it to be perfect. I wanted to show everyone how much love I had in this special person that I sang about, everyone to know what I think about you, how you make me feel, how-"

"Sh, Kise, listen to yourself, will you? How do you think that I feel right now?"

The singer's eyes widened. He definitely didn't want to think about that. "You feel ashamed, saddened? Or... are you upset at me, Aominecchi? Are you mad that the one thing that I could offer you, I couldn't even do correctly?"

As much as he didn't want to look pissed, Aomine stared at Kise through half-lidded eyes and furrowed brows. "Are you serious? You just poured your heart out to me- or actually, I interrupted you, so you'll have to continue whatever you were saying later, because I want to know everything- but that isn't the point. Sorry. But I mean, you poured out your heart to me, Ryou. You're always giving me all the love and effort that you can to its last drop, and you think that I'm _angry-"_

"Wait, so you're not even angry? You feel a stronger emotion than that? Oh, Aominecchi," Kise plead, "please, really, don't break up with me! I tried, I really-"

Kise was always silenced after a nice, long kiss, so Aomine did just that. "Okay, will you stay quiet and let me fucking finish now?" A nod in reply. "Alright. As I was saying, I don't understand how you're able to convince yourself that I'm angry after you did that. I mean, do you know how hard it is for anyone to write a song, no matter how passionate they are about something or someone? I mean, even Akashi probably can't do that in a snap- don't tell him I said that- but even he probably can't do that so easily, putting all of your thoughts and emotions into a song. And here you are saying things as if you aren't good enough? You've got to be kidding me."

"I... Aominecchi... I don't know what to say..."

"Don't say anything, baby." Kise gulped. He couldn't get used to that nickname, either. "Just take this as a reminder that you'll always be good enough for me, and you never fail to exceed me when it comes to loving. And you know that the only one who can beat me is me," It was Kise's turn to roll his eyes, "so it's a pretty big deal that I'm admitting that."

"I really love you, Aominecchi..."

"The only one who can love me is me."

"Leave it to a certain ganguro to ruin the mood..."

"H-Hey!"


End file.
